


Deal Breaking

by redretroconverse



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-09
Updated: 2015-03-09
Packaged: 2018-03-17 03:16:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3513239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redretroconverse/pseuds/redretroconverse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's time to say goodbye.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Deal Breaking

It had been foolish of him not to consider the probability that she was with someone else.

Granted, it had only been six weeks, but he couldn’t fathom why the possibility had escaped him. He had certainly never been at all the greatest husband, lover, or what have you. Their marriage had been a pathetic farce, he’d  seen to that, certainly. Why shouldn’t she pick up with some young bastard?

His lip curled as he drew away from the pawnshop. He didn’t know why she bothered with it, anyhow. It was _his_ business after all. She was not really ‘Mrs. Gold’, only in name, certainly not in heart. He refused to let the possibility that she’d kept it running out of sentimental value enter his mind. She had no sentimentality over him – he doubted she’d even bothered to keep the ring.

He looked down at his own, shimmering gold in the dark, and clenched his jaw.

“It’s time to say goodbye.” He said softly, pulling off the thing he’d so desperately kept on over the past few weeks in hope – he berated himself again for his foolishness. In hope of what, exactly? That he’d turn up and they could pick up right where’d they’d left off? The thought was laughable. There had been too many chances for him, he was too dark for Belle to love, no matter how much she’d protested otherwise. Belle had never really known him – she’d blinded herself to everything that he was – a killer, a fool, a coward. She only saw what she wanted to and it was his fault for allowing her little fantasy of who he might be to cloud her judgement. He tossed the ring, not bothering to see where it went.

He made his way to his house. Belle had moved out, she wouldn’t disturb him there. He had a deal to break.

**…**

Belle had almost expected it.

He was there, standing behind the counter when she arrived the next morning. It was almost as if he had never left, really. She half expected him to smile when she walked in, almost expected him to walk over and give her a kiss.

He barely looked up when she walked in.

“Miss French.” She had never, ever heard him call her that before. She’d never heard anyone call her that before.

She gave a half-choked laugh, and dimly realized she was crying. “I thought I was Mrs. Gold.”

“Oh, I hope not.” His voice was colder than any winter they’d had in the Dark Castle. “It would be rather unseemly to be kissing other men while still married, wouldn’t you agree?” His face was a humourless smile and she sucked in a breath.

“You know about Will.” It wasn’t a question.

“I didn’t bother myself with the particulars.” He waved a hand. “After all, names are only important if you want to know something.” He met her eyes for the first time since she’d walked in, and she knew he wasn’t all as unaffected as he wanted to pretend he was. “I assure you, Miss French, I do not. I’ve come here to severe our marriage; I only need your consent, and it will be as it never was.” He smiled then, sharply.

“Please, sign here.”  She walked forward, feeling the weight in every step. He was cutting her off, just as she’d cut him off.

“I didn’t think you would fight for me.” She heard herself say, dismissing the piece of paper he held in front of her.

“And it appears you are correct.” He showed his teeth.

She picked up the pen he had proffered, laid out neatly on the table so he wouldn’t have to touch her. Safe. Easy. Clean. She was grateful, but her heart ached at the distance between them.

“I want to explain.” She said, because she did. She didn’t want him to leave without her at least trying to put all her thoughts into words. She wanted to say that she still loved him, that she would always love him, that it was just that he would never love her enough and she wasn't one to settle, that he would never choose her and that it wasn’t enough. She wanted to tell him everything he already knew.

He cut her off. “I don’t want you to explain.” He said, eyes calm and words brutal. “I don’t want to know anything about your life from this point further. I don’t want to know about you, I don’t want to see you. I will stay out of your way, I will not harm the people you care about. I only ask that you sign the papers.”

She snapped. “What do the papers do? Are they magic? Will they fix everything that’s broken inside of you, Rumpelstiltskin?”

He smiled bitterly. “Afraid not, dearie. I just want out of the deal.”

She sagged, reaching for the pen. She signed her name, slowly and carefully and then he was walking away.

“I loved you.” She said to his back, even though it wasn’t true. She loved him; present tense, just as she was sure Will loved Ana.

He stiffened, but didn’t turn.

“You didn’t.” He said, so quietly she almost didn’t hear him. “You loved someone who looked like me. He was there every time you closed your eyes, but every time you opened them, he’d disappeared. You kept dreaming of him, only to be disappointed every time I appeared. I’m sorry, Belle,” and the apology was sincere and genuine, “I should’ve told you sooner.”

He sounded like a love-sick poem, broken and jumbled and terribly bitter. The words were sharp and fresh and it made her fingers shake.

“I love you.” She said, his hand on the handle of the door.

“And I love you too.”

The door opened, and he was gone.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, no. I don't believe that Rumbelle is over, and I AM NOT READY TO SAY GOODBYE. I just needed to express my angst somewhere. I hope all the Rumbelle shippers are fine out there. Hold on to the ship. Everything will be fine.


End file.
